I don’t know about you, but I love a bit of extra glow before I head out the door and start my day.

I have tried countless amounts of radiance products and not all work as claimed.

Having luminous and glowy skin is a sign of good health and makes skin look gorgeous, even for those with oily skin!

There are a lot of products on the market that advertise their formulas as illuminators, but don’t really show up very well on the skin once applied.

I have combined my 3 favourite illumination products which can be used by all ethnicities and genders as an add on to your skincare regime for a bit of a glow!
And yes, I have tried all of these products and studied the formulas, so I can safely say these 3 deserve to make the list.

I am rating these in order of radiance, not the overall formula, as the radiance is the main purpose of these products in the first place.

3. Benefit- Girl Meets Pearl

This product is dispensed by twisting and letting the product come out through tiny holes in the top. Cute way to dispense but is a bit annoying I find as it can get quite messy if not cleaned.
This product has a beautiful radiance to it otherwise! You can apply on the cheek bones or mix it with your favourite moisturiser. Anyway way you would like to apply it! The formula is a bit basic, apart from a couple of antioxidants, but radiance wise, this is impressive!

2. Mac- Strobe lotion/cream

Whether you choose the strobe lotion or cream, they are both amazing options for an intense illumination for your skin. Not to mention these products are jam packed with antioxidants and other beneficial ingredients to keep your skin healthy. These can be used as a moisturiser, or under your moisturiser. (I like the lotion under my moisturiser as it is nice and light and can be layered)
I am so glad I came across these great products!

1. Laura Mercier- Radiance Primer

I have to say, this product beats any illuminating products I have come across so far! It has a slight tint to the product as well, but it’s not alot, so boys can still use as well without it looking like make up. This can be applied under foundation, under moisturiser, or as a highlighter !
I love that there has been a few great antioxidants added to the product as well (including the great vitamin-a)
This is a primer so you can’t expect too many extras in it!
What is your go to illuminator?

Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, skin-lightener,
Collagen booster and can even protect the skin from u.v damage!

It is no wonder why this ingredient has gotten so much hype over the years and has been used in countless amounts of products on the shelves.

But how much vitamin c will actually make a difference in my skin?

Well it depends what exactly you are wanting to get out of using vitamin c. If you are wanting skin lightening properties, vitamin c needs to be at a concentration of 2% , and only some forms of vitamin c will function as a skin lightening ingredient.

The problem when searching for a vitamin c product is that we don’t understand where vitamin c stands in a serums formula , the most common form of vitamin c would be “ascorbic acid” if you see this ingredient at the top of the list, that is great! If you see it at the end (after preservatives) don’t even bother!

I have put together a few of my favourite “C” superstars !

Keeping in mind; these are not in order of vitamin c concentration but picked for its overall formula!

Enjoy

3. Dermalogica- MAP-15 Regenerator

I am not usually one for gimmicky like products that look cool to use but “don’t perform”. In this case it’s an exception! Yes this product goes from powder to liquid in a cute mini dispenser, but it also delivers ALOT of vitamin c into the skin , and is “magnesium ascorbyl phosphate” which has lots of research to perform well! This can be mixed with your favourite product or worn alone!

2. Kieh’s- Powerful Strength Line Reducing Concentrate

I LOVE this product! It contains a very high amount of vitamin c, and the reliable kind as well (ascorbic acid). This formula is simple which is great for sensitive skin as you are less likely to be allergic to any of the ingredients. This is silky and works great under your moisturiser !

1. Estée Lauder- Even Skintone Illuminator

This is my favourite multi tasking serum! This provides a high amount of vitamin c and a wide cocktail of antioxidants and anti irritants to prevent more sun spots from forming! This will effectively diminish discolourations, reduce redness, prevent against oxidation and it also has a slight shimmer to it to make your face more luminous! This is also oil free and works great under your moisturiser.
I am smitten over this serum!

You could be accelerating the ageing process and not even know about it!

There are little things that we do everyday that contribute to ageing too soon

Most of it we CAN prevent and take steps to make ageing less severe !

Here are some of the common habits we do every day…

1. Overdoing It.

-We tend to think that more is less and that we should wash our face as much as possible and apply as much product as possible.. It is very much the opposite.

We need to avoid washing our face too much, and let our skins natural oils do their job of protecting our skin, because no moisturiser can compare.
Limit washing your face to once a day. (end of the day) and splash it with water in the morning without product.

Use a cold cream, or (soap free) light lotion cleanser to keep your skin’s natural oils as in tact as possible.

2. Avoid hot water!

– Avoid washing your face in the shower if the water is hot, this can not only severely dry out your skin but also make your skin break out unexpectedly.

Drying out your skin results in lost lipids and ceramides leaving the under layers of your skin unprotected resulting in collagen and elastin breakdown.

The same goes for hot baths, the steam is enough to dry out your skin severely so keep it warm or keep it to 10 to 15 minutes tops! (Oh how I love my baths)

3. Don’t be so rough!

– avoid rubbing your face with a towel after showering, and being too rough with your cleanser (or any other product).

Pat your face dry gently with a towel and don’t pull it around.
Our skin is so precious and fragile, even if we can’t feel it being damaged or becoming inflamed, every pull and stretch that we do is stretching the elastin in our skin, making it more prone to sagging later on.
(This goes for sleeping on your face as well)

4. Don’t pull faces!

-yes, life is short and we should laugh as much as possible, but these expressions will take hold of our appearance before we know it, you can laugh as much as you want, but think about those lines before you make a habit of pulling funny faces.

5. Sun Care

– most people would know about this by now, and can’t be said enough that this will cause ageing so silently that no one believes the facts about sun damage until they see the results.

Spf 15 is acceptable, but it is always better to go higher! (Spf30+)
And remember to look for “broad spectrum” on the product or it is no good.

Scary stuff!

What are your tips and tricks to keeping yourself that little bit younger everyday?

Something I find quite often when I look at a toners formula is that they are very cheap when it comes to a good amount of ingredients , and after all, you don’t want to pay 30 to 40 dollars for a bottle of water and some glitter in it.. Right ?

So here are some things to look for in a toner !

-antioxidants are a must! And there should be lots if you are going to tone at all
-avoid alcohol as the 1st or second ingredient (mostly alcohol denat)
-look for skin identical ingredients such as glycerin , or cholesterol for better value
-make sure it suits YOUR skin type so it balances your skins oil flow/dryness evenly.
-an exfoliating toner (a.h.a or b.h.a) can be a great addition to an oily skins regime

So whether you need a toner in your regime is really up to , and whether your skin needs something extra or you need to refine more oil after cleansing!

Choose wisely and if it smells like last weekends bottle of vodka … Don’t use it!